cresting

from the iowa dot:

1107 AM CDT SUN JUN 15 2008

...FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE...

THE FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR
THE IOWA RIVER AT IOWA CITY.
* UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.
* AT 10:00 AM SUNDAY THE STAGE WAS 31.5 FEET...AND STEADY.
* RECORD FLOODING IS OCCURRING.
* RECENT ACTIVITY...THE RIVER IS CRESTING NOW.
* FLOOD STAGE IS 22 FEET.
* FORECAST...REMAIN NEARLY STEADY THROUGH MONDAY AFTERNOON...THEN
BEGIN FALLING VERY SLOWLY.

yay! hopefully an early crest means the water will go down sooner. as of my departure for the wedding last sunday, we had roads flooded over in iowa city. when i got back into town on tuesday the river was getting higher & i'd barely made it over the bridge in waterloo. then cedar rapids practically washed away; they're on restricted water because they only have 20-25% capacity.
thursday i took some pics of the burlington st bridge that i cross to get to work on the west side of the river.

burlington st bridge from the north side

downstream, south of burlington bridge

by friday they were threatening to close the bridge, so i ditched work to get back across & spent the afternoon helping to sandbag the main uni library & other buildings. more sunburn. the bridge was still open. saturday i went back for more torture sandbagging. after 3+ hours my arms were giving out. oh, and not to forget a reporter interviewed me for usa today. i didn't end up making the cut, but i had been taking a water break, so no big deal. the mill brought free pizza for volunteers & then papa john's brought some more over too.
my apartment is in no imminent danger. we'd have to bring back the ark if water came near it, so i'm not particularly worried about that. national guard has been out working crazy hours since tuesday & they're not allowed to go home. they're bunking them at one of the high school's because the armory is also flooded. fun times.
hopefully, as indicated above, this is the turning point and the water will start to recede after tomorrow. lots of cleanup & that will take more time than you'd think, but so long as the injuries have been few and far between, it's pretty much material loss. it's devastating, but 'things' can be mostly replaced.
my thoughts & prayers go out to everyone in downtown cr who lost their homes & businesses and the losses that have happened in ic.